Quiet Interludes
by Jonathan Priest
Summary: Series of One-Shots. Love, hope, passion and humor that exists within the tiny moments that make life such an adventure. Percabeth centric with other pairings planned later
1. Matters of the Heart

A/N: This is my first in a series of one-shots exploring the wonders of Percabeth. If you like what you've read, or don't, please drop a review and let me know. They are very appreciated.

Disclaimer: Disclaimed...I own nothing

**Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 1: _Matters of the Heart_

The motorcycle had sped through the streets at breakneck speeds, dodging around cars and pedestrians, pushing its way onto the sidewalk to avoid the larger cluster of stalled traffic as driver and passenger quickly made their way towards the Plaza Hotel. Percy had known fear before, had stared into the eyes of death and the dead and held their gaze without so much as a shudder of fright. Yet when Silena Beauregard had called his cell phone, telling him Annabeth was sick with fever from the knife wound, he had known, for the first time in his life, that all-consuming, paralyzing panic that had driven a spike through the middle of his being.

No matter how fast he drove, no matter how he weaved his stolen motorcycle around obstacles, he could not simply get there fast enough, and the worry and fear and regret and all the emotions jumbling around within him made it difficult to breathe. It would have been strange had he thought about it, but being ADHD, his mind was easily distracted, his thoughts shifting from one variable to another, never at rest or calm. Yet in this moment of undiluted panic, his mind had never been so focused. There was one place in this world he needed to be, and his frustration was mounting as he just couldn't get there fast enough.

After the few moments of reckless driving that seemed to stretch the entirety of his lifetime, Percy had finally managed to arrive in front of the doors of the Plaza Hotel. He didn't even bother stopping the motorcycle, simply planting is right foot as he turned the bike into a lean, allowing the momentum to cause the vehicle to slide beneath him and skid across the concrete. He had even forgotten his passenger Will Solace, and if not for his training he would have been carried right along with the bike's trajectory, but Percy couldn't bring himself to care. The motorcycle hadn't even finished skidding to a halt before the son of Poseidon was breaking into a full run, bursting through the front entrance and demanding of any demigod lingering in the lobby where Annabeth was.

It didn't matter to the young hero if his actions were causing some alarm among his allies, it didn't matter if they were worried he was on the verge of cracking under the strain of the never-ending battles, all that mattered was getting to Annabeth. A few words from his friends, a few rushed conversations and Percy learned she was on the top floor.

Nothing was working right, not since Annabeth had been stabbed, and now even the elevator refused to move fast enough for the eagerly anticipating commander. His arms crossed over his chest as he tapped his foot impatiently before he moved his hands to set at his hips. He couldn't keep still, he couldn't take the waiting and it was slowly driving him to the brink of desperation. For his own part, Will Solace took a few calming breaths while trying desperately to ignore Percy's fidgeting.

At last the elevator doors opened along with the chiming bell indicating their floor when Percy rushed from the lift, followed closely by the healer. Another few moments of questions and directions and the pair found their way to the terrace where Silena sat, trying to comfort Annabeth while the cluster of Athena's children encircled them. Pushing his way through the crowd, Percy felt all his withering faith that it would all be okay die in his chest.

Annabeth was pale, her lips turning slightly blue and she shivered almost violently despite being covered in blankets. When Will had moved to her side and rolled up her sleeve, exposing the deep gash that had perforated her arm, Percy was sure he was going to pass out. He had seen injuries before, much, much worse than the one that stained Annabeth's arm with blood. But yet, seeing her so still and weak, so close to death had caused a stillness to run through his mind and body that seemed unreal, as if he were someone else watching the drama of his life unfold through a different pair of eyes.

He hadn't recalled kneeling, taking Annabeth's hand in his own to try to comfort her while Will cleaned and healed the wound. He hadn't realized when the other campers had begun filtering out of the room, leaving only his injured friend and himself. All he seemed to focus on was the face of the young woman who had nearly given her life to save his.

"You're cute when you worry," Annabeth said, her words coming hauntingly hollow as if the effort to speak drained her. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together." Several moments passed between them, his eyes moving unconsciously to the bandage that wrapped her wound while her eyes never left his face. "Percy," she said softy, and perhaps it was the gentleness of her voice or hearing her say his name that brought his mind and attention back to her. "I'm alright Percy."

For a several moments, the young man said nothing; he simply chewed his bottom lip and tried desperately to rein in his emotions that were storming his resolve. He wanted to be strong. He wanted desperately to hold back the strangling fears that he had nearly lost her. He wanted to show her how overjoyed he was that she was going to be all right. But that crippling fear that had consumed so much of his life of late began to bubble over, moistening his eyes and causing his lower lip to tremble.

"Shh," Annabeth said, reaching her good arm up, cupping her hand behind Percy's neck and bringing him down into a one-armed hug. "It's all right Percy. I'm okay."

He couldn't speak, he couldn't even breathe through the gripping terror that continued to claw at the membrane of his heart, leaving jagged, unwanted scars that would haunt him long after this war would pass to the annals of history. All he could manage was to bury his face into the crook of her neck and squeeze her tightly to himself, pouring all the grief from his body that shook with the unspeakable horrors of almost losing her.

He was inconsolable, his words, his promises petering off into the hitching sobs that smothered his voice. Annabeth too tightened her hold on the young man, trying to reassure him she would be okay while reassuring herself that they would have time after this war to explore these new feelings she couldn't quite give a name to. She desperately hoped, if the fates were truly merciful, that they would get that chance.

Neither knew how long they remained like this, shouldering each other's fear and worries and making unspoken promises that were relayed through the tightening of their embrace. Finally, after several calming breaths, Percy untangled himself from Annabeth's arms, his eyes shining and cheeks moist with tears. It was amazing staring into his eyes, the tears causing them to shimmer a brighter green than Annabeth thought possible. But it was all the things unsaid between them, all the emotions swirling within those telling irises that caused a flutter to her swelling heart.

"You saved my life," he said simply, his head bowed as if embarrassed over the emotional eruption that had just occurred. It was a simple statement that seemed to carry with it the weight of all creation. And though she had taken the knife strike in place of him, the tone of his words left her questioning if there was not more to this story she was not privy to. Certainly, taken out of context of the incident on the bridge, those words could have a multitude of different meanings, and being the daughter of Athena, Annabeth wanted to know in what context he meant them.

"Do…you mean to say your Achilles spot?"

Taking a deep breath as he considered what he had meant, Percy shook his head simply. "I don't mean, _just_ my Achilles spot…" His voice hitched slightly as he remembered his bath in the Styx, how she was the vision that brought focus to his thoughts and anchored him to this world. How that very image had pulled him from the water. How she had given meaning to his life since the moment they met five years ago, spoon feeding nectar into his mouth and bringing him back to the land of the living. She had saved him, in more than just every way.

"Had you not taken that knife, Ethan would have killed me. But," he paused a moment, fixing her with his piercingly brilliant emerald eyes before continuing. "I mean to say you saved me in so many other ways than that."

Chewing on her bottom lip, struggling to maintain the status quo of her hope and logic, Annabeth opted to file that small slither of possibilities away for a later time and asked rather, "Where is it? Your Achilles spot?"

He didn't even hesitate, didn't even recoil from the question as he took her hand and moved it to the small of his back. "It's right here, the spot that anchors me to life…" _To you_, he thought these final words, but Annabeth seemed to understand as her thin, warm fingers danced across the only vulnerable place on his body. Her eyes opened in surprise at the sensations she felt, and Percy could only hope to wonder what she experienced, what she saw. But the slight smile pulling at the corners of her mouth and the fascination that glittered from her eyes told him he already knew, and felt self-conscious at that thought. Her expression of discovery by touching his vulnerable spot almost made him forget the currents of liquid fire that passed through his body when her fingers were on him. Almost. It didn't help that her fingers were still there, splayed against the expanse of his back, but neither seemed to want to lose that contact.

After a few breaths, Annabeth's smile returned in full, dazzling beauty as she fixed her eyes on Percy. "You know Seaweed Brain, I think I owe you that kiss."

For a moment confusion painted his face as he arched an eyebrow at her. She smirked at his reaction, though couldn't quite blame him, there had been a lot going on since that moment. "On the bridge, you asked for a kiss for luck. I told you to come back alive, well, you did. So I owe you that kiss."

Smiling at the memory, a moment of peaceful levity during the middle of a war had caused his shoulders to relax just a bit. "I'll put it on your tab," he said jokingly, his eyes finally finding some measure of comfort against the dawning fears that had consumed him several minutes before.

Now it was Annabeth's turn to purse her lips and arch an eyebrow. "You've started a tab on how many kisses I owe you?"

"Yeah well…" Percy replied, shrugging his shoulder in response. "I've only just started it."

Seemingly pleased by the response, Annabeth smirked even more before saying; "I've got your tab at three."

The statement caused the two to laugh for the first time in days and it felt good to relieve that stress, if just for a bit. Percy stood up however, his eyes meeting Annabeth's for a moment before turning away, intent on leaving the room until her hand clutched his in a death grip, as though afraid to let go. "Percy, will you stay with me?" All through his earlier breakdown, she remained calm, remained an emotional foundation for him to cling to. But now her voice quivered with just the tiniest hint of apprehension, letting him know how scared she really was about her near death experience.

A small, sad smile danced across his lips as he gently pulled his hand from her fingers. Bending at the waist, he pushed the coffee table away from the center of the floor before moving the second sofa against the couch she currently rested on. He climbed over the arm of the transplanted sofa and nudged himself forward until he was close enough to pull her into an easy embrace.

The two of them lay in each others arms, comforted by the closeness of their friendship, and that extra something more that neither really needed to put into words. Knowing this, they began to let sleep carry them away, erasing all the fears of reality that awaited them beyond their little pocket of comfort.

For within each other's arms, they could find their peace.


	2. A Friend in Need

A/N: Story takes place in Battle of the Labyrinth after Percy's funeral shroud is burned.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 2: A Friend in Need

There is a roiling, disturbing, unsettling feeling that has taken hold of her; a churning of nerves and apprehensions that began in the pit of her stomach and has spread through every nerve of her body until she is consumed by her own emotional confusion. For two weeks, he was missing. Two agonizingly torturous weeks where her best friend had blown himself out of a volcano to save her life, and yet she had abandoned him to whatever the fates had decreed.

When at last she made her way back to camp, when she told her story she couldn't help but notice the scorn and ugly looks her fellow demigods graced her with. She was a coward, that was what they were all saying behind her back, and truth be told, they would be right. Even if those same looks were directed to her as pity, she didn't deserve it and preferred the former expressions of disgust. She was weak, she was a failure and her arrogance got her friends killed or lost in the Labyrinth, and she wanted desperately to believe that her fellow campers believed that too, because it made it so much easier to hate herself if she had their contempt.

And so, for those two horrible, heart-wrenching weeks she waited, ignoring her training, ignoring her duties and would sit on the beach and watch the tides crash against the surf before receding back into the ocean. She waited for him…and he never returned. Slowly, after the first few days her half-brothers or sisters would come down and try to coax her into coming back with them, maybe to the archery range or to the arena, anyplace other than the depressing beach where she stared listlessly at the ebb and flow of the tides and wait for the return of the one they had all given up for dead.

She couldn't believe he was dead because somewhere in the depths of her being, she was sure she would have felt it. Even as irrational as that sounded for a daughter of Athena, she had to believe it was true; she had to wait for him, because the alternative was simply more damning than she could allow herself to consider. Finally, after a week of her ceaseless vigil, it took Chiron to come and convince her to return to life at camp. 'He will return when he is ready, you can not speed up that process no more than you can bend the tides.'

Of course she couldn't bend the tides, nor could she bring Percy home any sooner. Only he could do either, leaving her to become little more than an observer in her own life. Yet still, Chiron had managed to do what her siblings could not and pull her away from her mindless vigil, back to some semblance of life. But it was all wasted effort. She went through the motions of her daily life, but her eyes would constantly be drawn to the direction of the beach and she found herself needing to return to her watch.

Returning to life within the camp however was the most devastating experience she could have endured, because when she was not at the beach, being comforted by the tides and her thoughts of Percy's inevitable return, she was gripped by the ugly reality, the very real probability that he was not coming back. And that possibility was crushing her more than the weight of the sky, because she needed him to come back. She needed his smile and easy wit; his sarcasm and obtuse reasoning that so often balanced her direct and carefully controlled life that he was the antithesis of everything she was, and yet, somehow they worked that way. A two-piece puzzle that fit together perfectly, and she never appreciated that until he was gone.

She knew why Chiron had insisted that she return to camp. It was because Chiron himself had given up that Percy would find his way back…that he was even still alive, and by distancing her from that distraction, she soon came to realize that as well. He was never coming back, and every time that thought danced across her consciousness, her lungs constricted and she couldn't breath. Some times she'd collapse under the weight of her grief, some times she would throw herself full long into her training and take her anger at the gods, the fates and the world out on whatever poor camper was her sparring partner. Only Clarisse was brave enough to accept her as a sparing partner anymore. Most times however, Annabeth would curl up in bed late at night and let the angry, bitter tears pour from her eyes, let the sobs shake her body with all the violence her dying heart would bleed into her. All the fear, the pain, the grief, it fell upon her in such crushing force that she would cry bitterly until her lungs would be starved of oxygen and her throat was raw and her voice was strangled. But she would only cry at night, late at night so not to disturb her siblings. She would never know that her siblings all heard her mournful laments and hurting tears, and hurt just as much as she did because there was nothing they could do for her.

In the days that past however, she finally relinquished hope that he would ever return. The grief was still as bitter and raw as it had been that first moment it occurred to her that he was really dead. She didn't cry anymore however, she had no more tears to give. Now, she was little more than a husk, a shell of a human being who had given up her hope and faith and lived moment by moment, because that was all that was left to her. She should know better, any child of Athena would understand. Yet it wasn't her brain that controlled her anymore, it was her heart, and for that she would curse Aphrodite for the remainder of her days.

That was what led her back to the same beach, the same spot she sat in all those mindless hours waiting for him to come back home, to come back…to her. He had finally returned, on the same evening when they decided to burn his burial shroud and honor him for the hero he was…is. There were simply no words to explain what she was feeling at the moment her eyes connected with his shining green eyes. Nothing could be said to make the moment any more wondrous for her. He had returned from the dead, against all odds. And though he smiled with unmistakable joy at his return, there was also a pained, almost regretful expression shining from his eyes that robbed any celebratory emotion swelling up within her. It was as if he regretted his decision to come back.

He was gone for two weeks after being blown out of a volcano. It wasn't difficult to know where he was, what had happened to him. But it was the sense of regret within him that shook her to the core of her being. She was jealous, and the fact that she was made painfully aware of that jealousy when she had no right or reason to be only clashed painfully with the overbearing happiness that he wasn't dead, that he had returned alive and well. The fear, hope, desperation, faith, grief and something she was not yet ready to name, had been storming within her for weeks. And now that jealousy had reared its presence within her, both with the knowledge of where he had been, and the mention of the mortal, it was all too much and boiled over, causing her to lash out in anger at her best friend when really, she was angry with herself.

Coming to grips with that had left her drained, and she felt the tears, angry and hot, burning the corners of her eyes, but she had cried too much in the past weeks, and she could not bring herself to let them fall now.

She was so consumed by her own self-degrading lamentation that she failed to hear the unsteady, unsure footsteps of her best friend as he joined her at the edge of the beach. It wasn't until he sat beside her, his eyes fixed steadily on the horizon, as if seeing something beyond either of their line of sight, and Annabeth was struck anew with a resentfulness that did not all suit her. She was the first to care for Percy, nurse him back to health, and now it seemed, someone had done the job she had not even known she missed having. Nothing made sense anymore, and that was what confused her more than anything, because she hated when she didn't know the answers.

For several moments the two sat in silence; a comfortable and yet uneasy peace that spoke to their own insecurities and made them both wonder when things had become so complicated between them. There was tension between them which neither knew how to resolve. After a length of time that passed purposely between them, Annabeth forced her voice to work, "I'm glad your not dead Seaweed Brain."

Though the words were spoken in a light tone of levity, Percy felt stung by the comment and wasn't sure why. "Are you sure about that?" He asked, and though his words weren't harsh or accusing in any way, they still caused the girl at his side to flinch slightly. "Back at the Big House you seemed pretty ready to throw me back in the sea."

"I'm glad," she repeated, turning her face towards his, hoping that he could perceive all the unsaid things shining from her eyes that she could not bring into words. As that connection was reaffirmed, a wavering, hopeful smile tugged at the corner of her lips, struggling for life as if she had forgotten how to smile. At last, Annabeth lowered her eyes and returned to stare out at the ocean. "I'm a lousy friend."

Her words were soft and raw with emotion, but there was the unmistakable quiver in her voice that caused Percy to furrow his brow as if not following her line of logic. "Why would you say that?"

"Because I am," she replied simply, lowering her face and closing her eyes, and despite the setting sun that dimmed the scene, Percy saw a single tear slide beneath her lashes and trace its path along the gentle curve of her cheek. For a moment, he was desperately tempted to raise his fingers to brush it away, to try to reassure her that everything was okay, but he regrettably lacked to courage to do so and the salty tear followed it's course unchallenged. "I didn't mean to say all those things up there. I'm just…well…it hasn't been a very easy couple of weeks for me."

Again they fell into that unnaturally tense silence while the tide worked its way further up the shoreline, each seemingly lost in their own concerns. "Last year, when I was captured by the Titans and made to hold up the sky, did you ever lose hope that I was still alive?"

"Never," Percy replied, an automatic response as he shook his head. But as he stole a sideways glance at Annabeth, he understood this was the source of her regret.

"Now you know what makes me a lousy friend Percy," she said simply, yet the husky undertone of her voice told him she was fighting the urge to break down in front of him, to show him just how scared and weak she felt these past weeks while he was missing. "You never gave up searching for me. You traveled across country to find me, and I couldn't even hold out hope that you were coming back."

The quiver in her voice, the tightening pressure in her jaw and the burning tears that threatened to overwhelm her eyes told her that her crumbling resolve was fast giving way to her own fears and trepidation, and she couldn't even bring herself to care if Percy saw it or not. Let him know how weak she really is, how starved for his presence these last two weeks had left her…it didn't matter anymore. Not the pain, the jealousy, the guilt or the fear that he was truly lost to her. He was here now, and even if that wasn't enough, she tried to convince herself that it was as the first tears cascaded from her eyes.

Instinctively, Percy's arm snaked around her shoulders and pulled her to him, his other arm encircling her as she leaned against his chest and wept all the bottled emotions she was unable to purge in front of anyone else but him. He spoke soothing words that did nothing to comfort her, but perhaps made him feel he was at least doing something.

"You never gave up on me, did you?" her words were smothered by the tears and sobs that had strangled the breath from her lungs and made her sound weaker than he knew she was. He could only imagine how much she was struggling with the concept that perhaps he really was dead and she had no recourse but to give into that possibility. Everyone she'd ever cared about, her father, Luke, Thalia, at some point they all abandoned her. It with startling, and more than a little humbling to know that Annabeth needed him in her life so desperately, that he was the last bastion of hope, that last, untarnished glimmer of hope that she would not be completely alone in this world.

Realizing this made him feel shame that he had even once considered Calypso's offer to stay on her island, that he could abandon everyone he knew. That he could abandon Annabeth. Someday he would tell her this, someday when he found the courage to tell her, but not today, not now. Now, Annabeth needed his words and his comfort. Right now she needed him.

"I never gave up on you Annabeth," he said, his own voice thick with emotion that he did not even know he kept inside, emotions and stifling and yet at the same time, as liberating as what Annabeth was expressing through more than words. He knew, even if he didn't know, and it was a strange realization to know without knowing that the pieces of his life and shifted once again, forming a new picture that was obvious, if he wasn't too dense to see it. "I never will."

Pulling back from his arms and staring fixedly on his face, Annabeth's wavering smile filtered over her face and shimmered through her watery eyes as she nodded in acceptance of this little gift from the gods. "Then I'm never, ever going to give up on you again either Seaweed Brain. No matter what happens."

Shifting slightly as she returned to her position against the broadening shoulders while lacing one hand around his neck to share in the embrace with her best friend, the two sat there in the quiet of the night, long after the sun had set and the tide had begun to consume the shore. There were few moments of peace allotted to the demigods of the world, but for this moment, they were both thankful to the gods that they at least had each other.

"Are you feeling better?" Percy asked after a time, and the nodding of Annabeth's head against his chest drew a smile to the young man's face as he tightened his hold to ensure her everything would work out, even if neither knew how that would be. "Are you ready to go back yet?"

"Not yet," Annabeth said quietly, tightening her own arms around her friend's waist and bringing herself closer to him in the process. "Can we…can we just stay out here for a little bit."

"Take as long as you need Annabeth, I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" She sounded so much younger, so uncertain in that single word, but Percy really knew what she was asking, and stroking one hand up and down the length of her back, treasuring the closeness of just being with her, he allowed a rare smile of hope that it would all work out for the best.

"I promise Wise Girl, I'm not going anywhere." Regardless of whatever else happened, whatever else was to come, in this moment he knew he made the right decision to return, for this was where he belonged.

A/N: I love getting into a character's head, and I think this was a scene that could have used some more development in the book. The entire series being written in first person, it leaves out a lot of what the other characters experience, and honestly, Annabeth is such a dynamic character, I believe she deserved her own POV in the series as well.

But I digress. As always, if you are kind enough to read this little tale, please be kind enough to review. Loved it, hate it, was if just meh…let me know. Feedback is the way writers improve after all.


	3. Little Treasures

A/N: Events in this story happen after the end of the second Titan War, but before Percy and Annabeth leave camp for the summer.

Percy Jackson

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 3: Little Treasures

It was nearly four in the morning when Annabeth finally tossed the blankets aside, foregoing all pretenses of a good night sleep. It was no secret that the children of Athena were identified by their naturally astute minds, a trait that had served the young demigod well in the past. But the disquieting thoughts that never ceased to play themselves across her over-analytical synopses were among her most irritating characteristics when all she wanted was a pleasant night of uninterrupted sleep.

But since the moment she had been claimed and made aware of her godly heritage, her mind would never quiet itself. This was most evident at night when the world was silent and all her unanswered uncertainties tumbled about her mind in an ever-frustrating maelstrom of ideas, questions and conclusions. She often denied that it was impossible to think too much, but at this moment she was opt to agree with her critics.

Realizing she wasn't going to get back to sleep and growing increasingly frustrated at the sounds of her slumbering half-siblings that enjoyed an eventful rest that was denied to her, Annabeth quietly changed into a pair of shorts and her orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt before leaving the cabin. She thought perhaps that the cool, early morning air would help placate her mind but that too seemed useless. Between her designs for Olympus, the promise of starting a new school year in New York and her changing relationship with Percy…not to mention avoiding all the girls from Aphrodite's cabin hoping to give her advice on said relationship. To say she had reason to think about a lot of things was an exercise in understatement.

As always, at the forefront of her mind, of course, was Percy. It seemed so bewildering to think that her best friend could be so much more than she had ever hoped she'd find in another person. She always considered herself an independent person; her fatal flaw after all was believing she could do anything by herself. So it was a pleasantly unsettling to realize that this one person had somehow become the center of everything she did. It wasn't love, not yet at any rate. But she knew that conclusion was no far off.

For a moment she had become startled by her surroundings, having just passed the practice arena. She hadn't even been aware she was walking until she realized she was doing so, and even as she continued her unplanned trek, there was no way she could be certain where her destination would finally lead until she reached the top of the hill that overlooked the ocean.

She almost laughed at the irony of it all, because without knowing it, her thoughts about her precious Seaweed Brain had unexpectedly taken her right to him. Sitting on the sandy beach overlooking the ocean sat the very subject of her musings, his legs crossed and head bowed as though in deep thought. Her first thought, strangely enough, was what Percy could be so involved in to keep his posture that perfectly still. The fact that it was barely past four in the morning hadn't even processed in her mind. After all, she was out and about at this ungodly hour too.

Deciding she'd rather share his company than admire him from afar, the daughter of Athena made her way down the gently sloping hill to her boyfriend's location. "Hey," she said quietly, hoping to alert him of her presence without disturbing him. "Why are you out here this early?"

"Oh, Annabeth," Percy jumped slightly in surprise as he made to conceal whatever had occupied his attention. This only drew a suspicious look from his beautiful Wise Girl as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I didn't know you were there. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I asked you first," Annabeth answered as she sat beside the young man, her shoulder leaning slightly against his while smiling at his flustered expression.

"Couldn't sleep," he answered simply before turning his attention fully on her, "You?"

"The same," she answered, but felt no need to elaborate on the cause of her restless mind. She was sure he understood anyway. "So, what do you have over there?" Annabeth asked as she signaled to the other side of Percy's leg that seemed intent on concealing whatever it was that had so consumed his interest before she arrived.

For a moment Percy was prepared to deny that he was hiding anything, but the expression on Annabeth's face told him she wasn't about to let the subject drop. Besides, he could never hide anything from her.

Taking a deep, unsettling breath, Percy pulled the small treasure from beneath his leg and handed it to the young woman at his side. She took it interestingly, if not more than a little confused at the realization that it was a book. But it wasn't just any book, "_Architectural Wonders of the Ancient World_? When did you…wait, this isn't one of my books. Where did you get this?"

"Bookstore on 53rd street, shortly after the war," he said sheepishly. He seemed to be finding it difficult to look her in the face as he scratched the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "I've been trying to work my way through it…haven't had a lot of luck with it though."

As she turned her eyes back on the book cover which showed a picture of the Roman Coliseum, more questions than answers rattled around in Annabeth's already crowded mind. "But you've never been much for reading, especially not about architecture. What's changed?"

Percy fixed her with a look that clearly told her exactly what had changed for him. It was her. "I just thought, well…" he paused a moment to run his fingers through his hair in an agitated action that served to stall for time while he thought of the right words. "I guess I was just tired of not being very good conversation when you talked about all the designs you were doing in rebuilding Olympus. Support columns, arches and arcs and load bearing joints and all the stuff that make your eyes light up with excitement when you start off on one of your explanations that I have no idea what you're talking about. I just wanted to be able to understand that, to know that part of you a little better, you know?"

"That's really sweet Percy," Annabeth said, smiling as she raised the book in explanation. "But you know, I don't mind it that you can't follow my ramblings about architecture. It took me years of study to understand everything I know now. I don't want you to have to go through the trouble of trying to force yourself to study something you have no interest in just to please me."

"It's important to you Annabeth," Percy answered softly, his face resolved in his admission as he turned his piercing eyes pointedly at her "that makes it important to me."

For a moment the silence fell between the pair of young lovers as Annabeth blinked back the misting tears and chewed her bottom lip in an effort to keep her emotions from overtaking her. When she spoke at last however, her words were thick with emotion and her voice was shaky, "I think that might be the most beautiful thing you've ever said to me Seaweed Brain."

"Oh good," Percy said, releasing an exaggerated breath as his body seemed to deflate slightly. "I was afraid that was going to sound really, really corny."

"Oh, it was corny," Annabeth smirked as she leaned close to Percy's side and placed a warm, soft kiss against his cheek, "But it was still beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

"You should stop while you're ahead Seaweed Brain," Annabeth laughed as she leaned into Percy's embrace, her lips meeting his in an ever-fluid dance of budding love. As they leaned back against the beach, their kisses growing more fervent and passionate with each passing moment, they ignored the beauty of the world around them, fully lost in their own presence. The lapping waves of the tides and sunrise that burned bright as fire against the horizon remained unnoticed to the two who remained ensnared in one another's arms.

The sun would always rise and set, the tides would always push and pull, but in an ever-changing world of uncertainties, confusion and danger, they were the one true constant that stabilized their lives. That was all they could hope for, and it was through the grace of the gods that they were granted this little treasure, for they had each other.

-End

A/N: Just a fluffy little one-shot here. Hope you enjoyed it, and if so, please be kind enough to let me know. Reviews always help me refine my writing. Thanks.


	4. What the Heart Wants

A/N: Story takes place before the events of TLO prior to Percy and Beckendorf's mission.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 4: What a Heart Wants.

For the past several hours she had been sitting on the cushion of her bed under the pretense that she was studying. It wasn't difficult for even the casual observer however, to know how that she had done none of her scheduled research this evening, and all of her warnings to her half-siblings that death would befall any of them should they interrupt her had been little more than wasted platitudes. Because even with Daedalus' laptop illuminating it's low, welcoming glow; even with the centuries of data and information and designs of structures and constructs never before dreamed, inviting her into the neurological matrix of consummate mental stimuli, she couldn't concentrate on the treasure trove of information begging her for attention.

Because her mind was elsewhere. No…it wasn't her mind. It was her heart compelled to the thoughts of a silly, foolish, stupid Seaweed Brain of a boy. Her mind was only forced to follow, kicking and screaming the whole way.

She wanted only to study, only to research the mountains of data bequeathed to her by the genius inventor who left it for her to unravel the puzzle of his great mind. But she couldn't, and what was worse was, she didn't understand why. And what bothered her most was she couldn't decide if she was more frustrated that her attention kept drifting to thoughts of Percy, or that she didn't understand why that was. A daughter of Athena never liked not knowing the answers.

So there she was, trapped between confusion and indecision and neither conclusion was particularly desirable to the blond haired genius. So, realizing she was not going to finish any research until she worked through her own emotional problems, she closed the laptop with a sharp snap and set it aside, pulling herself further up the mattress until her back met the headboard. If she were forced into this irresolute dilemma, she would face it as any child of Athena.

And so, considering the situation as a tactical problem, there was no logical reason for her thoughts to constantly be drawn to Percy. He was her friend…her best friend if she were to be brutally honest, and certainly she cared about his well-being. But she cared about Grover and Thailia too, yet neither of them had ever invaded her thoughts so relentlessly as to interfere with her work.

This meant that the problem was with Percy himself. But no, that didn't seem right either, because her initial feelings implied that she wasn't angry with Percy, but she was hurt, and she couldn't understand why that was. She knew Percy was in New York, he had been given an extended leave while preparations for the attack on the Princess Andromeda were being finalized.

She supposed that could have been it all along. Maybe she was just anxious? Maybe she was worried because this would be the first quest without her watching his back so his Seaweed doesn't get separated from his seaweed body. Well, the first quest since he traveled cross-country to rescue her from being trapped beneath the sky. So maybe that wasn't it. It could be something as simple as just missing him. But then, why did it feel so different?

And therein lay the crux of the situation. She was spending so much time analyzing why she felt this way that she didn't bother to think of her feelings at all. She was hurt, and she felt rejected. And it was because Percy had decided to spend his last hours before what could likely be his last mission with _her_. Annabeth couldn't even think the name of the mortal who had taken up so much of Percy's time of late without an unpleasant, stabbing pain being sliced through her middle.

She wasn't so naïve as to not understand what that feeling was, because admitting it would change everything between her and Percy, and she couldn't handle that. He had decided to spend his time with that red-haired, brainless, paint splattered floozy, not with her. If this was the last time, if he didn't make it back from this mission, would she hurt less by denying what she really knew what was the source of the problem? She didn't want to know.

Whether he made it back from the mission alive or not, she was deathly afraid to admit that her feelings were changing, that her relationship with Percy was changing. Because his desire to spend his last few hours before a potentially deadly mission with Rachel and not her meant he did not feel the same way.

It was painful to even consider, and she did not at first become aware of the slow, grinding ache that began in stomach and worked its way up her body. It was a pain that gripped her heart, strangled her breath and forced the air from her lungs in a bitter sob that she hadn't even known she was repressing. She was jealous. Jealous of Rachel, jealous that Percy would want to spend his time with her and not Annabeth, jealous that, Beckendorf and Silena had something she would never know. And she was angry at the injustice of it all.

She was Percy's friend first, she should have been the one to comfort him before this mission, to encourage him everything would be okay. To promise she would be here waiting for him when he returned. She hated it all, because he didn't know what he did to her. But what she hated more than anything was how her mind, her powerful, glorious, shrewdly decisive mind had lost its battle with her wretched heart.

Her resolve was beaten and defeated, as she knew it would be. Admitting her jealousy had changed everything between her and Percy, because it opened the gates to her emotional deluge, and she was swept away by its fury.

_Athena always has a plan_. It was her favorite quote spoken to anyone who ever doubted her. But as the tears began to cascade from her eyes and the bitter remorse shook her body, as she clutched the bedspread so tightly her knuckles turned white and realized with bitter finality that the heart trumped the mind, she wished she had been better prepared to deal with this new understanding. Because she could not have a planned for this.

-End

A/N: Not sure how this turned out. Hopefully this doesn't come off too OOC for Annabeth. I know she hides her emotions through most of the series, but I think this was a situation that really should have been dealt with, her realization of her feelings for Percy, especially given that she dropped enough clues for him after he returned.

Anyway, reviews are encouraged, appreciated and welcomed. Thanks for reading.


	5. Percy Laughed

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes Chapter 5

Haunting Laughter

There was so little joy in knowing that Percy had bathed in the River Styx that Annabeth couldn't quite find the words to express it properly. Though If she were to be truthfully honest, it was a necessary evil. Because without Percy's invulnerable body and enhanced fighting prowess, she knew their chances of winning the war against the Titan army was next to nothing.

Had Percy single handedly given the demigods their victory? Certainly not. But they could not have won without him. They would have been slaughtered by the hundreds, or worse yet, enslaved by the Titans. Annabeth knew first hand the hospitality of the Titan's cruel treatment she would not wish that on anyone. So the fact that their victory was dependant upon his Seaweed Brain of an idea, bathing in the river of the dead and binding himself to the world and…well, to her as she was his anchor, it seemed there was no other alternative than his foolishly brazen actions. No, she didn't think that was quite right. Machismo pride would be giving him too much credit. It was just plain stupid.

There were times since his dip in the Styx that she wondered if he noticed, if he understood the changes the river had made in him. At times, for her own peace of mind, she doubted it, because Percy simply wasn't that perceptive. Though she knew she wasn't being fair to him, because there were times when she swore she saw a look of apprehension dance across his telling jade eyes, as if afraid of what his ill-advised decision had cost him. When these moments passed however, he would hide it quickly, trying to conceal that damning truth from her, hoping she wouldn't notice. But he saw it, and she saw it. They both knew. But for the semblance of their own happiness they feigned ignorance. He was changing, and it frightened him.

In truth, it scared her too.

But what frustrated Annabeth most of all, what had wrenched her heart and twisted her insides with the gripping apprehension was that Percy had to make that sacrifice at all. She understood why he did it. The camp survived, the demigods, what were left of their diminished numbers, had survived, and in the larger scale of their own tiny concerns, the world lived on, unaware of the war that was faught around the mortals. Unconcerned by the sacrifice Percy had made for them all. He did it so that there would be a future to pass along to the next generation. He did it so they could live, and they would never know.

So, in his typical, impatient fashion, without thinking of the consequences he leapt right in. He couldn't have known the outcome of his actions. Even Annabeth would not have expected such a change to occur within him. And if not for the fact she was bound to him, his one lifeline that kept him from being consumed by the river, she's not even sure she would have noticed it either.

Certainly none of the other campers had noticed or commented. In truth, they couldn't be more in awe of Percy than if he was Poseidon or Zeus themselves. He was their hero, their savior, their leader and general…but they weren't his friends. Perhaps it was her fatal flaw of pride, but Annabeth was Percy's best friend and as such, she knew him best. But even she wasn't sure if she'd have picked out the subtle changes in his behavior had she not been bound to the son of the sea god, body and soul.

She had noticed it first on the bridge during the Second Titan War. Percy had stepped from behind the bus and marched, strong and proud up the center of the street. She couldn't help but witness what an imposing figure he cut against the scene of carnage. But there he was, their greatest warrior, walking to face an army of monsters without fear or uncertainty. It was that moment that she first noticed it.

Percy..._her_ Percy, was not that reckless. He would not have arrogantly confronted so many monsters without hesitation. He may not have been particularly bright. Brave, certainly, but not what anyone would call intelligent. What he did possess however was an abundance of cleverness and creativity. When things were at their most dire, Percy was at his most unpredictable. It had become his greatest weapon, even more amazing than his celestial sword or his command over the oceans, more than his will to survive or his dedication to his friends. His quick thinking resilience was what had made him such an imposing enemy to the forces of darkness. But now, walking to face the Minotaur and his monsters, Percy was little more than a blunt instrument. A tool of chaos and nothing more. That trait, that creative resorcefulness that Annabeth grudgingly came to associate with him had been robbed, stripped from him by the River Styx and replaced with something eerily more sinister.

In the very heat of battle, he had become a force of nature; a cyclone of destruction that lay waste to a dozen monsters every time he swung his blade. To watch him fight; it was a beautiful thing. It was skillful, it was fluent, it was destructive…but mostly, it was not him.

It had come to her clearly; this understanding that he was not the same as he was before the moment she first heard him laugh. He fought like a demon; and he laughed. The end of the world was fast approaching; and still he laughed. Demigods were dying, and his laughter came in great bursts of howling madness as he sliced violently through the enemy lines. It was a cold, gripping, mirthless laugh that she had never heard escape his lips before. It was a taunt, a challenge for anyone to face him. But most of all…it wasn't him.

Knowing that had terrified Annabeth, because when he laughed in battle, his mind was devoid of his basic instincts of survival. The River Styx had made him invulnerable, but it also made him careless. Not in style or finesse, but in all basic human qualities that made him, _her_ Percy. In those moments of madness, it was as though the Percy she knew had never come out of that river, but rather this stranger wearing his skin, gazing at her with those painfully green eyes, had instead replaced him. Because he had come to take joy in the slaughter of his enemies. It was...wrong. Part of her knew the Percy she knew, the Percy she loved still existed within his own body, but he seemed to share it now with something else. Maybe she noticed it because she knew him better than anyone. Or maybe being his anchor, the one person he tied his life too so that he could survive had given her an intuitive insight into his mind and heart. Because she knew some part of him was still there. She saw it every time that unmistakable fear danced across his eyes after slaughtering a practice dummy or using his powers more violently than needed.

Knowledge, at time could prove to be a heavy burden. Annabeth had come to realize that with her dawning understanding of what the river had done him. It had given him invulnerability, but in the heat of conflict, it had stripped him of his humanity. Because when the fighting began, Percy would fight like the raging berserker he had become.

He would fight…and he would laugh.

And Annabeth could do nothing but hide the fears and tears from those around her, wondering if this would be the time when Percy would finally slip, finally surrender to the beast growing within him. She only prayed to the gods that when the battle was over, the life cord binding them to each other was strong enough to guide him back to her.

She prayed, but hope was ever fleeting.

Because Percy would fight.

Percy would laugh.

And those unshed tears burning at the corners of her eyes would glisten, and wait for their opportunity to fall.

-End

A/N: Just a little snipet I thought of when considering the curse of Achilles. It seems there was no real consequences to doing that even though everyone told Percy how unwise that was. So I wrote this as an exploration of what the river had done to him. Interesting thing about this story though is that it was writting as a single line of thought. I didn't stop or even pause, just let my fingers keep typing and this is what happened. Never tried that before but hopefully it worked.

Anyway, tell me what you liked, tell me what you didn't. Reviews are always helpful in imporiving and are much appreciated. Danke.


	6. For Those We Leave Behind Pt 1 Percy

A/N: Timeline – Happens during _The Titan's Curse _after the prophesy and before Percy leaves to join the quest to rescue Annabeth.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes: Chapter 6

For Those We Leave Behind – Part 1: Percy

Apollo blazed brightly in the afternoon sky. Not really unexpected, the young demigod considered as he paced the length of the beach, considering the sun god must know by now that his sister Artemis was missing. But still, Percy couldn't bring himself to feel sympathy for the deity. It wasn't that he was unconcerned about Artemis' whereabouts, but with Annabeth missing…well, he couldn't bring himself to care about anything else.

And yet, here he was, stuck on a beach lamenting his own inability to save his best friend when a rescue mission was well on its way. He couldn't understand any of it. Thalia suddenly comes back from the dead, or being born out of a tree or whatever, and that gives her the right to muscle her way between him and Annabeth? His friendship with the daughter of Athena was just as important as Thalia's was, and yet she threw it in his face every chance she got that she knew Annabeth better than he ever could.

Then there were the Hunters of Artemis. They certainly didn't want him around, all for the misfortune of being born with the 'Y' chromosome. Gods forbid he try to speak directly to Zoe about joining their quest; she'd be just as likely to put an arrow in his chest as to look at him.

Regardless, the injustice of it all made Percy sick with disgust and his hands twisted angrily in frustration until he realized he was holding Annabeth's cap. For a moment his eyes fixated on the Yankees baseball cap. He couldn't even remember bringing it with him as he gazed at the stitched material, the only thing of Annabeth's he still had. He was uncertain how long he stood there, his thumb gliding over the brim of the hat with reverent remembrance until his eyes began to blur and the tightness in his chest was making it difficult to breathe.

He missed her.

Even when his mother was taken by the Minotaur, he had never missed her as deeply as he missed Annabeth at this moment. He supposed, in some recess of his mind that it was because he had actively done something to bring her back. But that only seemed part of it, because the ache in his heart was a different sort of pain than the one when he suffered the loss of his mother. This was a suffocating, crippling sort of agony that left him at a loss of what he should do…what he could do. He needed Annabeth here, needed her to tell him what he should do.

But she wasn't here. She was gone, the gods only knew where, and that reminder sent another wave of distress rippling through him.

"Percy," the gentle voice spoke, drawing the young man's attention from his own lamentations as he swallowed down the heaviest piece of his heart that had worked its way into his throat, strangling his breath. The only sound that followed was the soft footfalls against the pact sand as this intruder upon his solitude came to join him.

"What?" the young demigod asked more harshly than intended, though he couldn't bring himself to feel charitable enough to apologize. The only emotion raging through his body at the moment he turned to look at his mentor was betrayal. Chiron stood by and let the others exclude him from this quest, knowing full well how important it was for him to save Annabeth. He couldn't forgive him for that.

"I want you to know that I think it's for the best you're not accompanying the others."

"Yeah, you made that loud and clear earlier Chiron. Thanks for bringing it up again."

"Percy," the centaur sighed in much the way he did when trying to make the rather stubborn teenager to understand. "If you went on this journey, what would you do?"

"I'd find Annabeth, what do you think?"

"I mean how…" the immortal teacher of heroes said again, trying to demonstrate his point without openly telling him the answer. It was the same method he used while masquerading as his Latin teacher; guide, don't tell.

"I…I don't know, but I'd find a way. She'd find me if I went missing."

"Perhaps," Chiron replied in a tone that told Percy he was not at all sure in the young demigod's assessment. "But you must understand something very important Percy. This quest is not about finding Annabeth, but about finding Artemis. Zoe and the other Hunters would not oblige in your interference in that underlining purpose.

"Besides, and I mean no offense in this Percy," Chiron continued as he tilted his head to the side to better view the young man. "But you are ill-suited for this quest. Given your current emotional state, I doubt you'd be much use given your fixated determination to see Annabeth returned safely."

"And what's wrong with that?" Percy shouted, ignoring the waves that crashed soundly against the surf in response to his anger. "What's wrong with wanting to bring her back?"

"Because it's blinding you to everything else Percy," the old mentor said, shaking his head sadly at the wildly frantic expression painting the younger man's face. "Your relationship with Thalia is…volatile at best, the Hunters are adamant about no male participants on this mission, and most importantly, this quest, as sorry as I am to say it, and as much I wish I did not need to repeat myself, is about retrieving Artemis, not Annabeth.

"And before you say what you're about to say Percy," Chiron said, raising his hand to halt the coming tirade, "You can not go on a quest for Annabeth without the Oracle granting you one, which she has not. I am sorry, but you need to remain logical about this Percy. It's what Annabeth would want you to do."

The young demigod seemed to deflate on himself, his head bowing as he fought back the crushing defeat of his last hope for inclusion into this mission was destroyed by the one person he was certain would understand. "That's why I need her…" Percy spoke quietly, almost as if to himself, his words coming hauntingly hollow as he struggled with his despair. "I can't do this alone. I can't lose her...I just can't."

As he sank to his knees, collapsing under the weight of his own daunting fears, Chiron stood in silent visage, unable to offer any support to the suffering teen.

A/N: Well, there you go. Not sure how it turned out, but this is a three part focusing on the same theme but at different times throughout the series. Hope this turned out well. Anyway, drop a review and let me know. Thanks.


	7. For Those We Leave Behind Pt 2

A/N: Timeline – Set immediately before Charles Beckendorf leaves to retrieve Percy for the assault on the Princess Andromeda.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes, Chapter 7

For Those We Leave Behind – Part II

_Silena and Beckendorf_

Time was the enemy. The young demigod, nestled safely in the strong arms of her lover had never considered the concept of time as a corporeal entity, one possessing malicious intent; but these last few hours of pain stricken comfort proved just how uncaring the deity of time truly was.

For in these last few moments of peace the young demigods could think of nothing except how little time they had left to share with each other. If they could find the will to stop time and remain just as they were, sheltered in each other's embrace, then they would do just that. But it was not to be. Love could accomplish anything. Silena Beauregard was a firm believer in that simple truth. But it had failed her in this one instance, because it could not give her more time.

Instead they were trapped in this singular moment, caught between the peace and warmth of all the feelings they shared, both spoken and unspoken, and the fear of the forthcoming mission that threatened to tear them apart. For the entirety of their time together, the pair had not spoken a word. All their intended words and feelings were conveyed through the closeness of their bodies and the strength in which they held each other. It was bittersweet that they knew each other well enough that words were no longer needed. It was equally ironic that in this, what could be the last moments together, that Silena refused to tell Charlie how much she loved him.

Her mother would have been ashamed, a daughter of Aphrodite refusing to reveal the depth of her love for the man in her arms. But no matter how she considered it, revealing that truth seemed too final, that their relationship had reached his apex and Silena did not want to think that their relationship had gone as far as it could.

And thus they sat, huddled together in an out of the way cove just apart from the arena. In their seclusion, the pair of young lovers could truly believe they were the only people on the planet, or at least the only ones that mattered. No war, no threat of constant battle and demigod obligations. No fear that these precious few moments shared in the shaded glen could well be their last together.

That conclusion was beyond their willingness to contemplate.

But like all things, their peace was soon shattered by the gruff clearing of the throat by Clarisse who stood just out of sight and had it within her the decency to look abashed at her uninvited intrusion. When Beckendorf craned his head to acknowledge her, she could only stare at her feet, knowing what her arrival could possibly mean. "It's time."

"Yeah," he replied as if expecting the summons before turning his full attention back to Silena. "Give us a minute, okay?"

Clarisse didn't respond but merely moved beyond earshot. Charlie raised his hand to Silena's face, his fingers dancing enticingly across that perfect, porcelain complexion. Even in this moment of pending absence, of knowing he would soon depart for the most difficult mission of the war, he managed to offer a soft smile that caused her heart to flutter painfully against the cage of her ribs.

Pulling her close, his lips found hers in a sweet rapture of all that remained unspoken between, and for a daughter of the goddess of love, Silena was left effectively breathless. It was nothing like their typical kisses that spoke of a hungry need for each other. This kiss was soft and meaningful…with just the slightest pressure that told Silena how truly scared Charlie was. Not of what he would face, but that he'd never know this joy again. The 'what if' factor that floated over the head of every demigod since birth. Because they were all living on borrowed time, and much like this agonizingly tender kiss, it would all end too soon.

Before Silena could gather her wits, another unexpected first for Aphrodite's daughter, Beckendorf had pulled away from the young woman in his arms and made his way back towards camp. Even with the subtle pressure still burning across her lips and his taste dancing tauntingly across her tongue, her first realization was how devoid of warmth her body felt without him in her arms. It was an ache so palpable it evoked misery within every nerve of her body, leaving painful reminders of the vacancy his absent arms left her with.

"Charlie!" She screamed almost desperately, leaping to her feet and running with her demigod speed could muster. He turned at the sound of his name and was met by the smaller frame of his girlfriend colliding with him. Instinctively his arms enfolded her, bringing her closely to himself, his lips brushing the sides of her face as he absorbed her touch, her scent; every little, minute detail that made her so very special.

"Please," her words hitched briefly as she squeezed him tighter, trying to bring him as close as physically possible; trying to commit every detail of his body to memory and hoping in desperate naivety that it would be enough until she held him again. "Come back to me Charlie. Promise me you'll come back."

The words however would not come and instead he pulled her tighter to him in the hopes she would understand. They had discussed this mission before, argued about it even until he had no recourse but to tell her there was no one else to do it. It had to be him. Looking back at it now, he wished he had turned it down, because being apart from Silena was as painful for him as it was for her.

He would never know happiness more than in this one moment. He prayed to the gods and the fates that he never take this amazingly beautiful woman for granted and that, gods willing, he'd live through all of this to tell her all the things he could not quite put into words.

-End

A/N: Just a fun little tidbit, but Silena lamenting over how cruel time was at the beginning. For those keeping track, Kronos is the lord of time, and Silena was an unwilling spy for Kronos. OH the irony. I really wish I planned that before writing, but it all came to me as I was scribbling this down.

Anyway, not sure how well this came out, I wanted it to be more bittersweet and even heartwrenchingly sad considering Beckendorf's demise. Hopefully I pulled it off alright. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, encouraged and welcomed. Thanks for reading.


	8. For Those We Leave Behind Pt 3 Annabeth

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Quiet Interludes: Chapter 8

For Those We Leave Behind; Pt. 3 – Annabeth

She hadn't known when she had become so dependant on the sea. She supposed if she were to pin down an exact date, it would have been last year after it delivered Percy back to camp…back to her, after nearly two weeks of being presumed dead. But there was something naturally beautiful about the lulling tides that swept across the sands, only to recede as if afraid of being too promiscuous.

For Annabeth Chase, the sea was never-ending. It was powerful and vast and deep in parts while shallow in others. It was wild and uncontrollable, yet calming and nurturing. But more than anything, it was ever-present, making itself known when humanity ever needed to believe in something bigger than themselves. And it was all of those facets about the unexplainable force of nature that led the seas and oceans to remind her so much of Percy. His strength, his compassion, even his unpredictable nature were all the telltale signs of what she secretly admired about him most. Because he was always there, dependable and reliable, whenever she needed him to be.

In truth she had become dependant on his presence. Which was why, when he ventured into dangerous missions without her, she found herself sitting on this beach, staring hopelessly into the endless horizon. Because so long as the tides continued their gentle march upon the beach, she could believe he was out there. That he would return like he promised.

But there was another component that made it all the more difficult for the overly analytical daughter of Athena to come to terms with. If Percy survived, if he returned from his mission alive and well, then it meant he succeeded in destroying the _Princess Andromeda_, and with it, Luke. Annabeth couldn't quite come to terms about how exactly she felt about that probability.

Certainly she didn't want Percy to fail. Doing so would mean that he was…well; she couldn't quite fathom that conclusion and thus let it drift into the ether of her mind. She couldn't lose Percy. Because doing so would mean she was alone, again, and she couldn't bear the thought of enduring that pain again. But then, losing Luke meant she couldn't save that small piece of his soul she knew still existed with the body of the young demigod who had protected and cared for her all those years.

Her fatal flaw she assumed, but if there was a chance, regardless of how remotely impossible, that she could bring Luke back to her, make him repent and redeem himself, it would be just as if he had never betrayed them, betrayed her. Even if the more logical part of her brain ceaselessly reminded her that things would never go back to the way they were, Annabeth felt compelled to cling to that dying ember of hope for as long as she could.

And so, she sat on this beach, watching the tides crest and fall, and waiting for news as the two most important men in her life were somewhere on this very ocean, Hades-bent on killing one another while she remained in the relative safety of Camp Half-Blood. And that apprehension was slowly eating her from the inside out, because she hated not knowing.

"Mind if I join you?" the words startled Annabeth from her deliberations as she turned her attention to Silena Beuregard, shaken partly because of the realization that she was so lost in thought that she had not heard the demigod's approach, and partly surprised to see Silena here at all. They weren't what anyone would venture to call friends; even acquaintances might be a stretch for their relationship. In fact, the only times Annabeth remembered ever speaking to the daughter of Aphrodite was during the war meetings with the cabin leaders, and even then Silena seemed more interested in what Beckendorf had to offer to the discussion than anyone else. Still, Annabeth felt slightly comforted with just having some company, and though she still felt surprised at the unexpected visitor, she shook her head to invite the young woman to take her seat beside her.

Still, even with her fellow councilor sitting beside her, Annabeth could only manage to feel marginally better about the mass jumble of nerves that seemed intent on strangling the breath from her lungs. She was never good with her emotions, and her fears over the fates of Luke, of Percy, Hades…of all the demigods and what was to come for them, made it exceptionally difficult to devise a rational solution to her own unrelenting musings. As much as she loathed admitting it, she wished Percy was here, with his easy smile and devil-may-care attitude that had a way to comfort her even when she didn't know that was exactly what she needed.

And there it was again. That sense of dependence on that seaweed brain of a boy that was as equally frustrating as it was comforting. Maybe, in some small slither of her mind she came to understand that she found comfort in the sea because it reminded her of Percy. Such a simple thought, it was hard to believe she could overlook something like that, but then again, she wasn't sure if it was her mind or her heart telling her this, and seeing as how her heart had led her to getting hurt more than she wished to consider, it was far easier to ignore.

This was exactly why she preferred architecture and mathematics. Pursuits of the mind were precise. They were straightforward, with an understandable equation and an obtainable solution. Relationships…they were difficult to reason out in her overly deductive mind, making her understanding of them all the more impossible to understand.

"It's difficult, isn't it?" Silena asked suddenly, her words, the first spoken since joining Annabeth on the beach, brought the daughter of Athena's mind to the present and caused the younger demigod to startle as she had forgotten her presence. Fearing that perhaps Silena had read her internal torment through her telling expression, Annabeth remained hopefully silent, chewing on her bottom lip in nervous apprehension as she waited for her companion to elaborate on her indistinct statement.

For Silena, she drew her own conclusions regarding the confusion that danced its way across Annabeth's face and the color that stained her cheeks. A knowing smile threatened to tug at the corner of her lips, yet she could not find the strength to let that amusement breathe into life. At least not while Charlie was on his mission. When he returned, then perhaps…but not now, not while he was so far from her. "Being the one left behind; being here waiting for some news that he's okay, yet knowing that if he survived this mission, there will be the next one, and the one after that, and the following one. Knowing that he'll always be needed for these dangerous assignments, and knowing that one of them will tear him away from you forever," Silena's last words petered off as a mere whisper, her eyes glistening with tears she refused to let fall as she fought for control of her own wayward emotions. Charlie was being brave, fighting the monsters she could not. The least she could do for him was to be strong in return, and wait for him to come back to her.

"That fear strangles me every time he walks away to fulfill a mission. Because I can't help but think that that last kiss between us is the last I'll ever have. I don't like thinking like that.

"That's why I thought, well, why I came down here to keep you company. Because no matter how many missions he goes on, that first one….that first one is always the worst."

Anxieties over her own disquieted mind soon gave way to confusion as Annabeth shook her head in ready denial. She may not have been particularly astute when it came to relationships, but she was not so obliviously obtuse to misunderstand the meaning behind Silena's words. However, what she intended as a full rejection of Silena's unfounded hypothesis on the nature of her relationship with Percy, somehow got mistranslated on its path from her brain to her mouth when she said, "Percy's been on dozens of missions already. This isn't his first."

She was never one to get flustered over her emotions, but the heat that stained her cheeks betrayed how out of sorts her mind had become. She had intended to set Silena straight, let her know that she wasn't down here, mooning over the flowing tides in the hope of finding comfort in her life while _the_ most important person in her world was risking his life for this mission. Instead, her traitorous heart told the daughter of Aphrodite that that was exactly what she was doing, and she could not find the way to reconcile the reality between what she had intended to say, and the truth that had tumbled from her lips.

For her own part, Silena remained surprisingly gracious at the telling display of emotional turmoil warring within Annabeth and offered a sad, almost comforting smile that couldn't find the strength to last more than a few pain filled seconds. "But it is the first mission that you're not with him."

Again the silence stretched between the two young women as each found their minds drawn to their own damning thoughts. Irrational. That was the word Annabeth was looking for. Her unexpected realization that she had ventured here at all, not because she was afraid that Percy or Luke would finally kill each other, but because she was afraid, terrified even, that she would never see Percy again. And yet, irrational or not, that fear was there, living and breathing within the center of her being, as though it had lived within her her entire life and only when she became aware of its existence, did it seem to stir and awaken. Licking her dried lips and fighting to overcome the lump that had settled in her throat making it particularly difficult to breathe, the daughter of Athena fought back the consuming tremor of her emotions in the hopes of retreating back to her rational mind. But she found no comfort there, only more evidence of Percy and all the foolishly, courageously, beautiful memories when the two of them fought side by side. No matter how dire the situation had become, she had always known she would be all right, just as he would be, because they were looking out for each other, protecting each other and keeping each other safe.

She could not say that about this mission however, because she wasn't there to keep him safe. The realization had brought a blurring to her eyes that she refused to acknowledge. She refused to let her tears fall, not because she was too proud but because it would mean that everything Silena had expressed, everything spoken and unspoken about her relationship with Percy was true. And she couldn't deal with that, at least not until he returned.

Biting her bottom lip again, certain she would permanently scar it from the amount of unnecessary torture she victimized it with, Annabeth took several steadying breaths before she found her voice. "I would have been better off not knowing this."

"Better, perhaps, but not happy." Silena replied with quiet confidence as she continued to stare into the distant nowhere, her own thoughts carrying her mind and heart on currents that were invisible to all but her. "Can I tell you a secret?" The abrupt change of subject brought a start to Annabeth again, causing her world to once more tilt a little more than she was comfortable with.

After a few beats that seemed unmercifully short, Annabeth nodded her head for the daughter of Aphrodite to continue. Nodding her own head a few times in unspoken thanks, Silena continued. "This is something I've never told anyone before but…I envy you Annabeth."

Of all the possible things spoken by the young demigod beside her, this had not even been a possible response. To Annabeth, Silena was the poster child for the _popular girls_ she often saw at her own high school; beautiful, personable and flirty enough to get any guys attention. The thought that she could be envious of her, someone who had no interest in matching her shoes with her purse…Hades, Annabeth didn't even own a purse. Accepting what Silena said was even true, the concept left Annabeth speechless.

"You know, I've never taken being a demigod very seriously," she said, her shoulders slumping slightly as she turned her attention back towards the horizon. "I was never good at, well, any of the activities at camp. None of the children of Aphrodite are really. Capture the flag, archery, swordsmanship, it just doesn't interest us. But you know, looking back on it all, I really wish I had taken more time to learn all of that, because maybe then I'd get to go on some of these quests with Charlie. Maybe he'd let me be there with him and trust me to watch out for him instead of knowing I'd just get us both killed.

"That's something you have with Percy that I'll never know with Charlie. He trusts you in ways I'll never experience, and as much as I love Charlie, I can't say it doesn't hurt, because it does. I know he just wants to protect me, but I wish I could protect him too."

It was an alarming discovery to know that this flirty and often flighty young woman had a deeper, insecure part of herself that Annabeth hadn't come to appreciate or take the time to discover for herself. She felt ashamed for that oversight and promised, at least to herself, that she would work on learning about people before drawing her own conclusions. But that didn't change the circumstances now, and it did not erase the underlining meaning of everything Silena had told her. She knew, and yet still Annabeth wanted to refute the claims of her feelings for Percy running deeper than just mere friends. Even as his best friend, it all seemed insignificant to what she was holding back, what she had been holding back for so very long.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Just call it a gift," Silena remarked, turning to face Annabeth with a knowing smile. "I just want you to know how lucky you are and not take him for granted. But also I just want to give you a little word of advice. The problem with you children of Athena is that you think everything out until you've exhausted every conclusion. Sometimes, you know…its best to just go with your heart."

-End

A/N: Just another little snippet. This was actually the idea that prompted me to start the Quiet Interludes one shots. I do apologize if the ending comes a little abrupt. I had another scene planned but it just seemed out of place and would have added some unneeded humor to a story that was meant to be driven by drama, and this seemed like the best place to end it. Overall I'm kind of happy with how this turned out.

As always, reviews are very much appreciated and welcomed. Good, bad…whichever, I'm always looking for feedback.


	9. Why I Love Him

A/N - Annabeth's POV

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 9: Why I Love Him

It's so strange. I was never one to place much faith in 'happily ever after'; never one to believe that love can in fact conquer all, regardless of what a certain meddlesome goddess of love might have you believe. I mean let's face it, my life hasn't been easy, and I suppose my past has done much to harden me to the unrequited hope that my life would ever get better.

I've never been a person weak enough to depend on another's existence to maintain my happiness. I'm perfectly content to find my own way in life, mostly due to the painful truth that I've been alone most of my life. It wasn't always like that though. My father never had much to do with me, and when I ran away from home, I met what I hoped would be my new family…at least that was what was promised to me until it too fell apart. Thalia died and was turned into a beautiful pine tree by Zeus, until she was revived. I thought we could be happy, thought we could at least be a family once more, but like all childish dreams, I woke up from it. Luke had betrayed us, and Thalia chose to join the Hunt, leaving me more alone than I'd ever been.

Why is this important? Because it's important to know why I'd become so jaded and emotionally distrusting from nearly every person I've come in contact with. It's important to know that I fully rejected the precepts of hope that my life would become something more than the lonely journey that would carry me from birth to death. You need to know how alone and desperate I had become, starved of human compassion. My father, Luke, Thalia…I loved them all and in the end they chose to abandon me.

It's important to know this because it'll show you how much I've changed.

I never would have thought it possible myself, but I'm not the same person I once was, and it's all because of my beautiful Seaweed Brain. I don't even think he knows what he means to me, what he's given me, but I really hope at times that he does.

Through everything that's happened over the last few years, he's been the one person who has stuck by me, reminding me that I never had to shoulder the entire burden my life by myself. Despite everything, he so wanted to protect me from my fatal flaw, my pride that I can do everything myself, despite knowing deep down that I couldn't.

But regardless of how much he wished to save me, I still recoiled from him. I'm not sure if he'll ever fully understand, but I had just become too accustomed to the people I trust in my life to abandon me when I needed them most, which is what confuses me so much about him. He abandoned camp, against orders and included himself in a quest he was not invited on, all to save me. He gave up immortality…for me. It's hard not to feel flattered and even humbled by that reality. Though I understand it, better than Percy knows.

A few years ago, when Artemis approached me, when I was asked to join the hunt, I hate to admit that I considered it. I mean, I really thought about it. But I had just gotten Thailia back, and I thought, maybe that I could bring Luke back to his senses and we could all be a family again, just like the old days. But again, my pride got in the way of my logic because deep down, I knew it was impossible.

Then Luke tricked me, forced me into holding up the sky and showed his true discontent for me, and when it was all over, Thailia chose to join the hunt, and they both left me alone again. I was dangerously close to joining the hunt as well, desperate to find a place where I belonged and to have what I always wanted, a place to call home and people to care about me. Some part of my brain still isn't sure why I didn't do it, but I know, or rather my heart knows exactly why I didn't.

I was Percy. Maybe if I hadn't looked at his face I would have gone through with it, but when I saw the terrified look on his face, the fear in his eyes that I was going to leave as well, I just couldn't. Don't get me wrong; it has nothing to do with love, regardless of what Aphrodite might say. It wasn't love, at least not then. No, what stopped me from joining was that the look in Percy's eyes was the very same look I had every time someone important deserted me. I can't really describe my feelings then, feelings aren't a valuable trait to a daughter of Athena. All I knew was that, I was someone important to him, and leaving him like that would hurt him as much as I've been hurt by everyone who's ever abandoned me. I couldn't do it, not to him, not to any living person, because even if I didn't need anyone, I wasn't naïve enough to believe others didn't need me. I knew that the instance I gazed into his beautiful, pure eyes that he needed me.

That was the first moment that began mending my faith in other people. The truth that my life had value to someone other than myself, and I suppose I craved that need to be important to him. That's why I clung so tightly to him, why I needed to know that I was so very important in his life, because he had become the last salvation of my long abandoned dreams of having someone who would never desert and abandon me. Calypso, Rachel…they were deterrents, barriers that separated us for a time, but unlike Luke and Thailia who abandoned me and never returned, Percy came back, he always would.

And I have never felt more hope for my future than I have at this very moment, sitting here on the edge of the beach beneath the shading oak tree while my beautiful, lovely Seaweed Brain sleeps one of his dozen naps a day ever since his dip in the Styx. His head is resting in my lap, and I can't help but feel a great sense of peace with just having him here so close, my fingers combing absentmindedly through his ebony locks while I think of all the events that have led us to this moment of peace.

Though, I would be lying if I don't doubt that this will last. There are sometimes I wonder how long he'll stay before he too abandons me. But that fear never lingers long. My finger's instinctively know what to do to ease those concerns as they seek out his Achilles spot, and if you're never tied to another human in the way that we're tied together then you'll never know the experience I get every time I rest my palm against the small of his back.

It's him. Quite literally, that small patch of unprotected skin is Percy in all his glory. All of his history, his dreams for the future, his pains, fears, hopes and most of all, his love pours into me whenever I feel that inviting little parcel on his body, because it's as intoxicating as it is overwhelming. I said that knowing Percy surrendered his chance at immortality for me was humbling, but that's a mere fraction of the emotions I get just by gracing my fingers over his Achilles spot, and the love I feel from him in those moments, the love that's meant just for me is so overwhelming that I ache with the intensity of it all.

How can I ever hope to live up to the knowledge that I'm the one person who he lives for? Who kept him mortal, alive and wanting to remain with us? Because I've already done that. Giving up my chance to join the Hunt is perhaps the most underscored example, but what no one understands is that during the second Titan War, when we were fighting hordes of monsters and Titans and rogue demigods, my only concern was keeping him safe. So long as he lived, I knew we'd be okay. Not because of some prophesy or because he was our leader, but because he was who I needed, because without him, I wouldn't survive a single day, let alone that battle.

So in a way, we are both eternally responsible for each other. I am his reason to exist, and he is my happiness. We need each other to survive, there's no other way around it. Smiling down at his peaceful face, I feel all that warmth and love whenever I press my hand to his Achilles spot, encircle me just by being near him. And what I find most fascinating about this, is that I never have to tell Percy any of this, not that I would, because he already knows. The Achilles spot is a dual edged sword, and works both ways. So even as I feel the full essence of Percy pouring into my being and overwhelming me with his love and devotion, he feels the same coming from me. I don't think he's even aware that I know of this, but it doesn't matter. We are bound together for the rest of our lives through that one little patch of skin that ties him to the mortal world, ties him to me. And I don't even need to be invincible to share in that.


	10. Yours, Mine & Ours

A/N: Timeline: Takes place after TLO

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 10: Yours, Mine & Ours

The dorm room was minute considering the expansive spaces Annabeth was often used to, both at her father's house in San Francisco and the extensive, sprawling fields of Camp Half-Blood. But given that she was attending her first choice in an Architectural academy, and would be closer to Percy, though she'd never tell him that, the smaller than livable space provided was a sacrifice she was willing to endure.

And of course, because of the close proximity to her boyfriend, it gave her the perfect excuse to volunteer his services to help her move in, which was why he was currently stacking her belongings along the far wall.

"You really think you're going to be able to fit all your stuff in here?" Percy asked as he straightened his stance and scanned around the small area, quite literally littered with boxes. "I mean…I didn't even know you owned so much."

"Athena always has a plan seaweed brain," Annabeth chided as she smirked from beneath the long locks that covered her face. "And that plan for now is to have you help me put my bags up in my closet."

As she struggled with the awkward packs that seemed to shift the more she tried to push them onto the top closet shelf, Percy walked behind her, pulling the bag from her hand and pushing it into its designated spot when something caught his eye. There, hanging in her closet was a bright orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, three sizes too big.

"I've been looking for that," Percy replied, jerking the shirt from its hanger and holding it in his hand. "Never thought I'd find it in your closet."

"Surprises never cease, do they?" Annabeth replied, making a valiant grab for the garment, only to have it snatched back by Percy, a teasing smirk tugging at the side of his lips. "Can I have it back?"

"Well, seeing as how it's mine, I think I have a claim to it, don't you?" Percy answered, his smile twisting a little further as he twirled the shirt lazily in his hand. "So, why do you want it?"

"Who says I do?"

"The fact that you steal it without my knowledge…"

"I was going to tell you!"

"Or that you just asked for it back…"

"It _was_ hanging in _my_ closet!"

"Or how about that you can't lie to me," Percy replied as he leaned forward, his eyes playfully penetrating Annabeth's stare, causing the young woman to flush unexpectedly. Flustered by her own lack of self-control when faced with the one person who had the ability to make her lose control, the daughter of Athena scoffed as she turned her back on her boyfriend.

"Fine, take the damn shirt," she stated with finality, her arms crossed over her chest and her back still turned. She felt nervous and completely out of her element, and she wasn't quite certain why.

For his own part, Percy felt sufficiently ashamed as he stepped towards Annabeth and wrapped his arms her shoulders, his hands folding lightly at the slope of her throat, holding her close without the threat of hurting her. "I'm sorry," he said, though for what he wasn't even sure, "I was just teasing Annabeth. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's not…it's not that Percy, it's just," Annabeth paused as she sought the right words, hoped to find the proper thing to say without revealing more than she intended. "I don't know how you do this to me."

"Do what?" the young demigod asked as he tilted his head before lowering it so his chin rested on her shoulder.

"Whenever we're together, all I ever want is to feel your arms around me," she answered, her voice low with unspoken meaning as she mustered all her will to continue. He deserved to know, and she was determined to tell him before she lost her courage. Reaching her own hand to rest over his arm, she found the strength she needed in just that simple touch. "And when we're apart, I miss feeling you close to me. I miss it so much it hurts. So I just, I just wanted something of yours so I could feel like you were always here with me."

Percy couldn't hide the love struck grin that foolishly decorated his face as he gave her a sidelong glance. "I know that couldn't have been easy for you to tell me."

"You have no idea."

"But I'm glad you did," he answered softly, his lips gracing the subtle curve of her jaw line before moving white hot kisses along the length of her neck, eliciting a shudder of pleasure from the girl in his arms. "But you know," he said between kisses, his voice growing husky with need. "I don't think my shirt will really fit you."

The next words to escape Annabeth's lips came too softly for him to hear, causing him to pause from his attentive ministrations as he craned his face to better view her and the burning blush that stained her cheeks. "Sorry, but I didn't hear that Wise Girl."

"I said," she answered, her blush redoubling as she turned to look into his fathomless green eyes. "It fits me just fine for a nightshirt."

The response seemed to embarrass Percy as much as it did Annabeth, and even if she was finding it impossibly difficult to look him in the eye, she couldn't help but think how adorable he looked with his cheeks aglow and his eyes wide with understanding. However, she felt the usual chill settle over her as he pulled away from her and turned towards her closet, his hands shuffling through the many articles of clothing she had hanging on display.

"Which one are you looking for?" Annabeth asked, not at all needing to know why he was going through her clothes. Turnabout was fair play after all, and though it remained unspoken, she was not the only one to feel the agony of separation when they were apart. "You know what, never mind. I have something else I'd rather you take."

Walking to her chest of drawers, Annabeth removed a small box from the top drawer and opened the delicate container revealing a pair of silver owl earrings, the same given to her by her father for her sixteenth birthday. Removing one of the pair, Annabeth walked over to Percy, a warm smile filled with so many unspoken things alighting her beautiful face as she pressed the single piece of jewelry into his hand.

"I want you to have this," she replied in way of answer, watching the look of dawning amazement dance across Percy's face before turning his attention back to her. Before he could question the weight of her decision however, Annabeth answered. "It's a matching pair Percy, just like us. And as much as I love these earrings, I will only wear them when you're with me, when you bring the second half of this set with you. Because alone, they're not as special as they are when they're together. Like I said, just like us."

A smile, genuine and beautiful spread across Percy's face as he raised his hand to cup Annabeth's cheek and bring her close in a slow, languid kiss that was as passionate as it was beautiful. He wondered only briefly, when had the daughter of Athena become so damn romantic? But he soon found himself lost to the deepening of their kiss and the soul-rending passion that erupted from every fiber of his being, and the question of Annabeth's hidden romantic talents faded with his thoughts.

-End

A/N: Just a sappy little tidbit of sweet Percabeth. Hope it turned out all right. As always, if your polite enough to read my stories, please drop me a line and tell me what you think. Danke.


	11. I Can't Lose You

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 10: I Can't Lose You

She woke with a start. Like so many nights before, her sleep was disturbed by the images, the night terrors and fears and trembling horrors that plagued her dreams and it was all she could do not to crack under the relentlessly violent images that stormed across her conscious mind, recalling every damning image with exact clarity. The problem of being the daughter of Athena, her brain was hardwired to remember everything, even those terrors she wanted only to forget.

But this was different, the nightmares that visited her in the deepest sleep. This was outside all her reckoning and reason to move beyond, to push from her mind with the gentle reminder that dreams are just dreams, they cannot burden your conscious mind. She knew this. Logically this was an unbending truth. Dreams may…at times influence reality, but they are nothing more than your subconscious mind feeding your imagination while your body is at rest. Still, knowing this could not stop the hammering of Annabeth's heart in her chest, or the cold sweat that had glazed it's icy sheen over her body.

It was nothing new for demigods to have nightmares. Often they prophesized or guided their lives in an overly chaotic world. But knowing that this was not perhaps a simple nightmare and was a prophetic dream sent a shiver of undiluted terror down the length of her spine. She had to know.

Throwing her covers aside and quickly grabbing her Yankees cap, Annabeth put the hat on her head and stealthily snuck out of her cabin. She didn't want any of her stepsiblings to know she was leaving because there was only one place she needed to be.

As she edged her way around the interior of enclosure, making her way to her destination, the unwanted images flashed across her mind's eye. The young man, straining under the confines of imprisonment, his green eyes howling in pain as his tormenters continued in their torturous treatment, unabashed that they were slowly killing the savior of Olympus. This dream had come with more frequency of late, and though it was never the same, and though logically she knew it was impossible to come to pass, it had nevertheless left her strangling for her breath and fighting the overwhelming tears that burned at the corner of her eyes.

Doing a quick once-over of the surrounding area to make sure she was in fact alone, Annabeth opened the door to Cabin Three and snuck quickly inside. She hated sneaking into his cabin in the dead of night, and she dreaded what rumors might circulate if anyone should see her, but she just had to know that he was really all right. So she made her way into the interior of the cabin, delighting herself slightly at the smell of the salt water from the fountain font in the far corner. She had come to cherish that smell, for it was the smell that belonged to Percy.

She wanted to be quiet so as not to disturb her sleeping boyfriend, however when she reached his bunk, the mattress was devoid of any sleeping form, and the bed was untouched, as if he had never laid down for the night.

An unrelenting, gripping fear consumed her very essence as she turned and darted for the door. He wasn't in bed, he wasn't even in his cabin, and that realization compiled on top of her relentless nightmares drove all logic from her analytical mind. One notion, one need had taken root in her mind, driving all other thoughts from her. She needed to find him.

There wasn't any rational rhyme or reason that compelled her towards the beach, no logical direction as to why he would be there of all places. Only that she knew within her heart, as if the thread of fate was pulling her to where she needed to be, and her legs couldn't carry her fast enough.

Minutes stretched painfully for the young woman before she finally found him, sitting on the shoreline and staring into the unyielding horizon, as though fighting the call of the sea. His strangely relaxed posture unsettled her ever so slightly, bringing her steps hesitantly to a pause. He seemed as though ready to jump into the sea itself, journeying to the world beneath the surface and take his place beside his father, and in that moment, Annabeth's heart seized on itself.

"I knew you were coming," Percy said quietly, his face never turning towards his best friend, but his words were inviting, even playful, and Annabeth found her curiously baseless fears melting away. "I could feel you."

Though the statement caused a curious, deeply thoughtful frown to form on her features, she nevertheless moved to location and folded her legs down to join him on the beach. That sat for several long moments, just enjoying the soothing breeze coming off the water and for the first time since she could remember, Annabeth felt a sense of peace with the world. Perhaps it was the presence of this boy who had come to consume so much of her heart, or maybe it was just that the gods had seen it within their grace to grant them just this little moment of tranquility.

"Couldn't sleep?" Percy asked unnecessarily, his voice husky with sleep, though his eyes shined unnaturally bright in the light of the moon.

Remembering the nightmares that has first roused her from sleep, Annabeth felt her throat constrict, strangling her voice as she shook her head in response to his question.

Sensing her distress, Percy reactively wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, whispering words of comfort that eased her troubles. He may not have been the most observant person the daughter of Athena had ever met, but when it came to her, he would move heaven and earth to protect her. He proved that to her several years ago, and he proved it every time she looked into his beautiful green eyes. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

She would only allow a few tears to fall, only allow him to see that tiny semblance of fear. That little glimmer of pain that revealed that, at times, she felt as if her world was falling from beneath her feet. "It was just a nightmare." She said, tightening her own arms around his waist, revealing full well that he was the source of her greatest unsettling fears.

Many thoughts and words of comfort flittered through his mind, but he settled on the one thing he knew than anything would surprise her into explaining as he said simply, "I know."

His words startled her slightly as she pulled back to look at him, her intelligent, searching eyes lingering on his for several moments, seeking the truth of his simple admission in his steady gaze. Surprisingly, she found that he was telling the truth. "How could you possibly…?"

He smiled softly as he pulled her again close to his body; his eyes closing in comforted peace while his hand began stroking her hair. "The same way you knew to find me here," he replied as if the answer was self-explanatory. "Remember when I told you about my vision in the Styx, how you pulled me out?" He waited a breath as she nodded her head at the memory. "You and I have been connected since that moment Annabeth. Just like how you knew I was in danger last year and took that knife strike that would have killed me. I don't know how well it works for you, but I can feel you, at all times. I know when you're smiling and when you're happy, and I know when you're suffering and afraid. I could feel you reaching out to me from your dreams.

"So I came out here, knowing you'd find me." Percy spoke in his quiet voice, the gentle tone he reserved only for her in their moments of significant expression. "You know I'm not going to pressure you Annabeth, I'm not going to ask you to tell me what your nightmares were about. You'll tell me when you're ready. Until then, I'll just sit here and hold you and do my damnedest to make you feel better."

A slight smile broke across Annabeth's lips before falling silent once more. "Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?"

A shrug and a slight squeeze from his arms brought a warmth to her heart and a laugh from her lips at his response. "I could stand to hear you tell me that more."

Tightening her hold, clinging to him as if afraid releasing him from her arms would cause him to vanish, Annabeth's words were choked as she whispered in fearful confession, "I can't lose you." Again the dreams haunted her waking mind. Images of Percy chained by some unnamed figure, screams tearing from his mouth in raw and heart-rending howls that cleaved her heart in two. And the worst of it, the very worst was seeing herself chained to the floor, forced to watch as pieces of her beloved were flayed from his body and crying in desperation for their tormentors to take her, to leave him alone. But their taunting laughs were their only answer.

She knew that demigod dreams were often prophetic, knew she was well likely seeing a glimpse of whatever future was coming for him, and she could not bring herself to speak of the images she had witnessed. Instead she clung to Percy as though he were her only sanctuary in a world that seemed so bent on destroying their little semblance of happiness.

She could not give voice to her images for fear they would bring them to reality, and Percy, dear, sweet, ever faithfully understanding Percy, would only hold her tightly in his arms. And long after sleep finally claimed them both, entangled in one another's arms, the dreams would not come to her. For here, in his arms, was her one sanctuary and the one place where she would ever feel safe; the one place where the future was not so terrifying. Because this was where she belonged.

**A/N**: Just a little bittersweet snippet of Percy and Annabeth after TLO. Whether Annabeth's dream comes true or not…who knows. Seeing as how the fates showed Percy growing old and dying an old man, I don't think there's much to worry about, still, I like the sense of the unknown future. Also could be a lead in given the opening of The Lost Hero.

Anyway, hope it was enjoyable and as always, if you read it and you like it or hate it, please drop me a review and let me know. They are always highly appreciated.


	12. Things We Never Say

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Quiet Interludes

Chapter 12: Things We Never Say

Percy had blundered his way through life. It was a foregone conclusion that if or when a situation could be made worse, it was generally delegated by life, the fates and the gods that it would be his responsibility to make it so. He had accepted that truth. That the world would never make things easy for him, because after all, what nearly invincible demigod son of the sea god would ever want an easy life. Well, he did for one, but that didn't change the course of his existence and he was therefore left to blame the gods and their immortal boredom for screwing up his life in such spectacular fashion.

That was what had led to his current, near-frantic pace as he searched the grounds of Camp Half-Blood in search of a certain blond-haired daughter of Athena. Oh, he didn't just step in it this time; he sank neck deep.

Why, after saving Olympus had he not wish for instant understanding of the female mind; or at the very least, an instruction manual. With a little bit of foresight he could have avoided this whole situation. But then, he supposed, Aphrodite wouldn't be gushing over the dramatic tension his indecision had caused. She must love this right now.

He had lost sight of Annabeth shortly after her hasty departure, and his endless search seemed equally unrewarding. He supposed if she didn't want to be found she would be, given her invisibility hat, but he hoped she wasn't _that_ angry with him.

He found her at last, after nearly an hour of frantic searching. She was in the last place he expected her to be and the first he should have looked…the beach. She always came here when she was particularly angry or upset, and judging by the rigid posture, she was some combination of the two.

Steeling his resolve, Percy made his way down the slope of the hill that led to the shoreline, hoping to absolve the tension in the air, yet before he could offer an apology to his thoughtlessness, Annabeth broke the silence.

"You're late seaweed brain," It wasn't a statement delivered with any malice or accusation, and yet still Percy flinched at the words.

"I didn't expect you'd be down here," he offered as way of explanation, knowing immediately his words were foolishly unnecessary.

"I always come here when I'm upset Percy," she replied in disappointment as she pointed towards the rolling surf. "You have a way of calming me." The metaphor was not lost on the young man, he well knew to what she was referring to, but he was mentally kicking himself knowing that she came here first, hoping he would find her and resolve this turmoil between them. He didn't, and could only imagine his lengthy arrival would add to the difficulty in smoothing out his foolish inaction. Yes, Aphrodite was most _definitely_ enjoying this.

"Are you mad at me?"

"What do you think?"

"I think that, yeah, you are, and…"

"I'm not mad Percy," Annabeth interrupted in response, her back still towards her boyfriend. "Disappointed, perhaps. Hurt? Definitely. But mad isn't the word I'd use to explain this."

"Annabeth…I'm sorry."

"That's what you came down here to tell me Percy? That you're sorry?" at this the young daughter of Athena rounded on her boyfriend, eyes narrowed and body quivering in restrained emotion that she held in check. "We've been dancing around it for months now, so when I finally tell you that I love you, you look at me like I've just grown a second head. You think you can just brush over that with a generic apology? Think again seaweed brain!"

At this the young man flopped in the sand, his knees folded upwards as he rested his arms on his legs. He couldn't think what else to say and asked the only question the popped into his mind. "What do you want me to say Annabeth?"

"An explanation would be nice; because right now I'm almost sorry I said anything at all."

"Please don't say that Annabeth," the young man pleaded, his eyes glimmering in the dying light with a marked shimmer of fear that danced painfully across his telling green eyes.

Any other time, the terrified look shining from the depths of his emerald irises would have crumbled her resolve. It happened whenever he woke, terrified from the nightmares that haunted most demigods and he would stealthily intrude into her cabin, begging her to comfort him. But she was too determined to understand his reaction to let it sway her better judgment this time. Instead she folded her legs beneath her, kneeling in the sand so that she could look fixedly into his eyes. "Then tell me why Percy? It's not like I was expecting you to say it, but I don't think I deserved having you completely choke over the words."

"No, you didn't," he said dejectedly as his eyes found solace in the sand. "And I'm sorry…"

"I don't want to hear you apologize Percy, I want to know why?"

"Fine!" he exclaimed, in frustration, though he really shouldn't have been surprised. It was Annabeth's nature to seek out the answers, just as it was his nature to leap head first into whatever situation presented itself to him. There were times when he wondered how their diversely dynamic personalities could ever fit together so well. Of course those doubts vanished quickly whenever they were with one another. "It's because you said it first."

Of all the explanation that could have been said, this was the one that not only did she not expect, but left her mind swirling in confusion. "What?"

"It's not easy being your boyfriend…"

"Wow, is that supposed to make me feel better?" Annabeth retorted, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she glared at the stuttering young man.

"Will you let me explain Annabeth, please?" He asked, thankful to all the gods that she did not snatch her hand away when he gripped it in his fingers. Using the time to marvel at how perfectly her hand fit into his, he took a few stalling breaths while trying to figure how best to word his thoughts. "Do you know how inferiorly stupid I feel being around you?" He asked, daring a quick glance to read her expression. For her part Annabeth kept her silent promise to let him continue uninterrupted, offering only a single, arched eyebrow as motivation to continue.

"You're the smarted person I've ever met Annabeth. I mean, you know everything before I even figure out something is happening. So just once, you know, just this one time I wanted to surprise you by being the first one to figure something out. I wanted to be the one to tell you how much I love you before you said it to me.

"But I either couldn't get the nerve up or the timing wasn't right or…I don't know. Nothing ever seemed perfect enough to tell you everything you mean to me and you deserved better than me just blurting the words out randomly. But then as time went on and I couldn't think of how to tell you, it seemed to just harder to come up with the right scenario or way to approach it or even just to say the words.

"Then you said it before I got the chance to and well, I felt like I was still three steps behind you in everything…" Percy finished, releasing Annabeth's hand as he slunk down into a self-depressive slouch. He didn't know why he always felt like this, when she figured an answer out before he even began working it in his mind, but he couldn't deny that it made him feel especially unworthy of her, as if she should have been with someone who could intellectually challenge her. Instead, she had him, and he could never help but feel unworthy of her. Yes, he finally concluded, Aphrodite was definitely to blame.

For Annabeth's part, she couldn't help the growing smile forming upon her lips that seemed unnoticed by the lamenting young man. So she did the first thing that came to her mind and kissed him full on the lips. The sweetness of their tender intimacy never seemed to last long enough, but Annabeth pulled away to gaze once more into his pleasantly surprised eyes. It was important that he understood this. "You adorably, clueless sap," she said, moving her hands to fully frame his face. "Do you really think you haven't already told me that?"

Wracking his brain for a moment when the words would have been spoken, the young demigod shook his head in confusion as he now waited for the brilliant teen to elaborate.

"Percy, think about it," Annabeth said, but continued before giving him the opportunity to dwell once more on the subject. "When we were up on Olympus and you were given the chance to become immortal, you didn't. Why is that?"

"Because of you," he said without hesitation, causing her gentle smile to stretch just a little further. "Because I couldn't lose you."

"That…kind of told me all I ever needed to know Percy." She said as she slid one of her hands down the length of his back, pulling at the hem of his shirt until her fingers danced across the exposed skin, settling upon the mortal spot that bound him to life and delighting in the shiver that ran through his body at the presence of her fingers. "And if that wasn't enough, then this certainly is," she answered, again running her fingers over the sensitive patch of skin for added emphasis while smiling even broader as his breath hitched in his throat.

She loved feeling his body quiver against hers when her fingers glided over his mortal spot, because it was a place on his body reserved only for her. That was all she needed to ever know that he loved her, because he would trust no one else with that secret. Only her.

As he relaxed into her touch, his lips finding solace in the curve of her neck that made her own body tremble with need, she held him just a little tighter, hoping to alleviate his pointless need to compete with her. But as his lips found her own "vulnerable spot" along the base of her neck, a strangely out of place thought had occurred to her. For once, Percy had spent too much time thinking, debating repeatedly with himself about the right moment to tell her he loved her while she had been the spontaneous one. How odd it was that they seemed to have inherited some of each other's own personality traits. She wondered if Percy was aware of it, but she held her tongue, deciding to let him figure it out first. She'd at least give him that.

-End

A/N: Not sure how well this turned out, I wrote this at work and think the concept was better than the final product. Anyway, I may not be updating any of my stories for a while, I got into my Master's program and it is kicking my ass.

As always, reviews are always appreciated and welcomed. Danke


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